Definition
That portion of an interstellar cloud that is heated and ionized by radiation from nearby stars shines as an emission nebula. The spectrum is characterized by emission lines from the constituent atoms and ions. Emission nebulae are typically H II regions, although planetary nebulae are sometimes also referred to as emission nebulae.
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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Irvine, W.M. (2014). Emission Nebula. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1710-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1710-3
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4
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